As your Representative for District 29, I will fight for:

OUR SCHOOLS

More teaching. Less testing. Smaller classes. Early education for every child.

As an educator who has taught students from pre-K to college, and who now helps guide our New Mexico teachers, I know we need to do more for our students and educators. I know that teachers are the bedrock of our nation, and that we can do more to support both our students and educators. I support:

Investing in Early Childhood Education for every child in our state (through amending the New Mexico Constitution to tap the Land Grant Permanent Fund);

Adequately funding all levels of education, including K-12 and higher education;

Recognizing the importance of play as the way young children learn;

Funding for research-based literacy and mathematics programs;

Recognizing the value of a well-rounded education that addresses the whole child and the need for resources across the full spectrum of education, including the arts, to ensure that each and every child in New Mexico has the opportunity to succeed in the field of their choice;

Reducing classroom sizes so that our students can spend more time learning;

Reducing the burden of standardized testing on students and teachers so teachers can teach to the students rather than spending too much time teaching to the test and how to test; and,

Launching a fair and balanced teacher evaluation system based on domain-centered classroom observations and discussions between educators and evaluators, surveys of parents and students, and evidence-based classroom practices.

OUR SAFETY

I believe we have to support our criminal justice system at every level if we mean to put a real dent in our drug and crime problems in New Mexico. That’s why I support:

Fighting for increased funding for our public safety officers and for our court system;

Investing in mental and behavioral health programs and in drug addiction rehabilitation to strike at the root causes of crime--rehabilitate those whose crimes originate in drug abuse and mental health issues;

Common sense reform to our gun laws -- like universal background checks, prohibiting people with domestic restraining orders and abuse convictions from purchasing guns, and enforcing the laws we already have on the books.

OUR ECONOMY

If the last eight years have shown us anything, it’s that our economy needs some serious work, and that our elected officials can’t afford to neglect the economy. As your Representative from District 29, I want to:

Champion the growth of our film, high-tech, health, and renewable energy industries, leading to the types of careers that last a lifetime and produce valuable returns across the entire economy;

Invest in our infrastructure, especially our broadband internet capacity, to close the digital divide and bring a world of opportunities to every community in our state;

Invest in entrepreneurial and small business education and resource centers to provide the skills training and vision for those pursuing new opportunities;

Ensure we’re providing our children with the skills and knowledge necessary to compete in today’s economy -- and tomorrow’s. I will fight for evidence-based education in literacy and mathematics as well as developing STEM and STEAM programs that will boost our children into future careers, careers that may not even exist yet; and

Develop apprenticeship programs in traditional and emerging industries that combine real life experience and training hand in hand with high school and post-secondary credentials.

OUR HEALTH

I will fight to make sure that every community in our state has access to affordable, high-quality health care. No one in our state should have to choose between paying rent or paying for health insurance for their child -- and no one in our state should be forced into bankruptcy for life-saving medical care. We can’t afford a system that provides world-class care to some while leaving others in the dust. Here’s how we fix it:

Ensure that Medicaid works for all New Mexicans who qualify, and that our medical system works for every community in the state;

Provide the kinds of incentives that encourage doctors, dentists and other health care professionals to come and practice in our most vulnerable communities—and stay;

Invest in our mental and behavioral health system to address the issues that lead to so much crime and tragedy;

Create effective drug rehabilitation and diversion programs to put a stop to overdose deaths and disease transmission, and to prevent crime before it happens; and,

Protect a woman’s access to reproductive healthcare.

OUR ENVIRONMENT

Our natural resources—our water, air and lands--must not be destroyed for private profit. Even though much of our state budget comes from non-renewable energy production such as oil and gas, we must preserve our natural resources and environment for future generations, and ensure that the beauty of our state is valued for all time. We have to:

Ensure that we protect our state trust lands from unnecessary and counter-productive damage;

Provide adequate rules and guidelines for our energy sector without hampering our economy and state revenue;

Protect our public lands and natural environment so that they can be enjoyed and responsibly used for generations to come; and

Protect our aquifers and other precious water resources from pollution and depletion so that there is an adequate supply to meet all our needs.